Fastening clips are used in various applications. For example, fastening clips may be secured to a piece of sheet metal within an automobile. Another component, such as an airbag system, may then be secured to the sheet metal by way of the fastening clips.
Typically, a tool is used to install the fastening clips to a piece of sheet metal. Indeed, various clips are secured to the piece of sheet metal through separate fasteners, such as screws or bolts, that threadably pass through portions of the clips. Further, the shape of many clips does not coincide with a hole into which the clip is to be positioned. For example, the axial cross-sectional shape of a clip may be square, while the hole is round. As such, positioning a particular clip into a hole may not be easy.
In general, a relatively large deflection force is used to move the outer edges of a conventional clip into a round hole formed in a panel (such as a piece of sheet metal). Thus, a high insertion force is used to install the clip into the hole formed through the panel. Due to the high insertion force, a tool, such as pliers, is typically used to compress the clip so that it fits into the hole. The use of a separate tool typically adds time, cost and effort to the manufacturing process.